


Death Is But The Next Great Adventure

by saltyfandombrat



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Contractions are the work of the Devil, Death, First Person, Jughead POV, M/M, cliches, third person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 23:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20629637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltyfandombrat/pseuds/saltyfandombrat
Summary: Since the day you got your wings, I have never been the same.





	Death Is But The Next Great Adventure

They say death brings people closer together, everyone joined and connected by the same feeling of mourning for the recently departed, but the days following Jason Blossom’s death proved that the people who always said that did not really know what they were on about. Either they did not know what they were talking about and had never truly experienced death or they simply knew better people than the ones that filled Jason’s life. Due to knowing most of them very well, I have to believe that it is the latter because most anyone would be better than the ones Jason was surrounded by. Of course, not everyone was as awful as I am making them sound and some of them were certainly good people, but the funny thing about dying is that it brings out the worst in every person. Moments that are supposed to be used for remembering the dead are turned into a contest to see who has had it the worst, who misses the person more, who should have the most sympathy. People tend to forget that Jason should have the most sympathy. After all, he was the one who died, he does not get to compete in this contest because they buried him a week ago and that will not ever change.

The thing about Jason Blossom that is truly the most messed up, though, is his death as a whole event. Jason Blossom did not just die. He was not some old man who just passed away peacefully in his sleep, leaving behind no one surprised because he had spent decades on the planet and it was his time. Nor was he a person who had struggled with cancer for years now and had a death date since the beginning of their treatment, giving themselves and their loved ones plenty of time to prepare for the inevitable tragedy that was to come into their lives. Nobody had any time to prepare for Jason Blossom’s death, he didn’t have any warning or time to get his affairs in order before he left this Earth. While he was not expecting it to happen, he was not old or sick either, he was a perfectly healthy eighteen-year-old that should have had a long life ahead of him. Things were so unexpected for Jason, taking everyone in Riverdale by surprise at how something so terrible could happen to someone so popular. Someone so perfect, the true golden boy for Riverdale High School, Captain of the Riverdale Bulldogs. Jason Blossom did not just die. Jason Blossom was murdered. 

Jason Blossom left behind a girlfriend and a sister, friends and a whole team of people who loved him, he left behind the only life he had ever known. He had lost everything with such brutality that a viewing of the body wasn’t even possible, except for the two men that found his water-logged body in the river and perhaps his family in a secret affair that would take place only behind closed doors. We can not say for certain who all saw his body, but I can say that I myself was not one of the people that viewed it. Despite my morbid curiosity in the matter, of course, I did not think that I could handle seeing Jason Blossom laid out on a bed of white. I could not handle looking down to see that mess of red hair contrasting with the purity of the white outfit he was buried in, the red only contrasting with the numerous roses we had tossed down into his casket before he was buried-and with the gunshot wound in his forehead. Some of the others perhaps would look at him for closure if they had that as an option. Myself, I am convinced that Cheryl Blossom viewed his cadaver at least once before they put him down to rest for good. I can understand a twin needing to see her brother’s lifeless form, just to assure herself that it has really happened and he really is gone now. 

In her state of grief and seeking the capability to move on from the untimely death of her brother, I would understand if she needed to see him one final time even if it meant seeing him unnaturally positioned and made up by an examiner so he did not look quite so dead. Funny thing how post-mortem makeup artists seek to make the person look like something they are not when no amount of makeup would cause people like Jason Blossom to be any less deceased as he laid there on the cold table that might be the only thing colder than his skin. No matter how understanding I am of why one may or may not want to view the body, not everyone is nearly as kind as I am. Reggie Mantle, for example, is not nearly as understanding of that, specifically why someone would not want to. More than once, he commented on my presence in Jason’s death. He did not seem to know whether he hated me for caring or if he hated me because he thought that I did not care. Something he was sure about was that I was, apparently, terrible for not wanting to view Jason’s body at all once he was dead. Seemingly, he could not understand why someone would not want to see the body of the deceased. Even if he didn’t understand why I stood by the fact that I didn’t want to see my boyfriend as he laid in a sleep that he could never wake up from. That would not be my last memory of him, the last way I ever saw him was smiling and happy beside me, holding my hand before his last game, that was the last memory I wanted of him. Everyone wants their last memory to be happy and beautiful, not staring at their lifeless body and always remembering what they used to look like. As beautiful as Jason looked, I would not let it be marred by the various colors that a body turns after they have been dead for a while. 

For me, it was especially unfair with how I was able to mourn the death of my boyfriend. He was with two people, a girl by the name of Polly Cooper and myself, a boy named Jughead Jones. That is right, the perfect Jason Blossom was not only bisexual, but he was dating two people and one of which was the trailer park rat that is me. Is it not funny how death brings out great secrets such as these? Of course, his family already knew that I was seeing him and they had for a while, not that they would ever really admit that to anyone else. To put it mildly, they did not exactly approve of me seeing him and decided to forbid him from seeing me, but they knew very well that their disapproval did not end our relationship. That same disapproval was why I was not allowed to attend his funeral. Now, Cheryl did tell me that I was welcome to attend the funeral if I wanted and that she would not let her family kick me out, but I was not taking my chances. Truly, I did not want to be around all those snobby people and I especially did not need the funeral to come to terms with his death, but I realize now that I wish I had been able to say goodbye. 

When I kissed him the night before, I had no idea that he would be dead before the same time the next day and his body was tossed carelessly into the river. I wish that I had attended his funeral, despite his family and for him. His grandmother, Nana Rose Blossom, had always been exceedingly kind to me. The first time I met her, I had been frightened of her because she had startled me and seemed so serious, but she was one of the kindest women in the world. Now, I am saddened by the fact that I could not be there for her at the funeral, but I try to accept the fact I did not go because I can not change the past. Loving Jason will never bring him back and regretting the fact I did not go to his wake will never make Nana Rose feel better about the service. After the death of a loved one especially, it is important to try and forgive yourself for all the things that you wish you had done or what you wanted to say to the person. What happened now is in the past and I can not change the past, I can only learn from it and be better in the future because now I am acutely aware of the true mortality that follows even the best of people. 

Something I learned from Jason Blossom’s death was that you can not spend your whole life waiting in the wings, sometimes you have to make your own cues and go out onto that stage at your own pace. He taught me that I never needed to stay silent when something was not right, I could stand up for myself and should do so because nobody else would ever have respect for me if I remained a doormat forever. His actions showed me that if you want people to care about you, you first have to be able to care for yourself to show them that you deserve that care. All of his lessons were merciful, taking pity on the fact that I had been raised a certain way and the fact that he loved me always came into play. Perhaps I put too much of myself into Jason and our relationship, letting myself think I deserved good things because Jason Blossom cared about me. He taught me that my worth does not come from the fact that he wanted me, he wanted me because of how much I was worth. Now, I do not back down and I will not hesitate to tell people that they are cared for because they could be gone at any moment and life does not give second chances once they are gone. There was always so much that I learned from Jason’s words and how he acted, I learned that people are not always what they first appear to be and that the kindest smiles can sometimes hide the most sadness behind them.

But I also learned that everyone deserves to love and be loved in this world, that love is not just some lie created so kids could have a happy ending in all those stories they read while they were still young and hopeful. Before Jason, love seemed like one of those things that everyone always talks about happening, but it never really does. For me, especially. I never saw myself having someone who loved me, being in love with someone, or even thinking I would deserve the love someone else could give. In my own experiences, I had never known true love for another person, not even among my own family. It was always hard for me to see that the devotion was real for other people and that it would happen to me one day. One of the many important life lessons that I could never see before I know the beauty of Jason Blossom himself. A man who made so many mistakes, but was genuinely trying to be the best that a man could. His influence on me and other people in his life were so powerful in a way that I had a hard time even fathoming. So, for that and so many other reasons, I am thankful for the fact that Jason Blossom was able to be in the life of everyone at Riverdale High School and I hope that he is now resting in peace, in a better world than this one. 

The gym was deathly silent as Jughead stepped down from the podium before them. No words were spoken, but that was okay because nothing needed to be said. Everything that could be said already was and they now needed to sit in silence to let the words resonate with them. Not even a cough would echo through the gym as he looked around for any sign of human emotion, perhaps for any sign that his words meant something to someone else. Tears were burning his eyes as he walked across the gym and back to where Archie was waiting for him, but he did not feel bad because he had finally been able to say his piece and that is what Jason would have always wanted for him.


End file.
